CBS Adds Two New Comedies, Three Dramas Including `Hawaii Five-O' Remake

By Andy Fixmer -
May 19, 2010

CBS added two new comedies and three
dramas including a remake of “Hawaii Five-O” to its prime-time
schedule in an effort to claim a third straight season as the
most-watched U.S. television network.

The network is introducing a drama starring Tom Selleck and
a comedy with William Shatner, according to an e-mailed
statement today. New York-based CBS canceled seven series
including “Gary Unmarried” and “The New Adventures of Old
Christine” for its September lineup.

CBS is looking to bolster a prime-time lineup that includes
eight of the top 10 most-watched scripted shows on network
television. The broadcaster is likely to finish the season on
May 25 with the most viewers for the second year, said Brad Adgate, director of research at Horizon Media, a New York-based
advertising agency.

“The goal every year is to make your schedule stronger and
that means clearing out some room,” Kelly Kahl, who oversees
CBS’s prime-time schedule, said today at a press conference in
New York. “It’s the network circle of life. We have some new
shows and we have to say goodbye to old ones.”

“Mike & Molly,” a comedy about a Chicago couple who meet
at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting, will air at 9:30 p.m. on
Mondays, after “Two and a Half Men,” the highest-rated comedy
on network television. An updated version of “Hawaii Five-O”
will follow at 10 p.m.

“Hawaii Five-O,” a series that originally aired on CBS
for 12 years starting in 1968, stars Alex O’Loughlin as
Detective Steve McGarrett, a decorated Naval officer who returns
to Oahu to investigate his father’s murder and stays to lead a
new task force. Scott Caan plays his partner Danny “Danno”
Williams, a newly relocated ex-New Jersey cop.

‘$#*! My Dad Says’

“The Defenders,” a drama featuring Jim Belushi and Jerry O’Connell as Las Vegas defense attorneys, will air at 10 p.m. on
Wednesdays, following “Survivor” and “Criminal Minds.”

CBS, controlled by Chairman Sumner Redstone, was unchanged
at $14.91 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite
trading. The shares have climbed 6.1 percent this year.

Ad sales ahead of the new TV season may jump 20 percent to
$8.26 billion from a year ago, when companies cut marketing
budgets during the recession, according to Anthony DiClemente,
an analyst at Barclays Capital in New York.

“The Big Bang Theory” moves to 8 p.m. on Thursdays,
followed at 8:30 p.m. by the new comedy “$#*! My Dad Says.”
The show, starring Shatner, is based on the popular Twitter feed
by Justin Halpern. CBS is starting a one-hour block of comedy on
Thursdays to compete with NBC in the time period.

‘Blue Bloods’

“There’s a good opportunity for comedy there,” Kahl said.
Other comedy shows in the time period “aren’t setting the world
on fire,” he said.

CBS is making a push to gain viewers on Fridays, when the
network will air “Medium” at 8 p.m., followed by “CSI: New
York” at 9 p.m. “Blue Bloods,” a new drama featuring Selleck
and Donnie Wahlberg as members of a multigenerational family in
New York City law enforcement, will air at 10 p.m.

Later in the season, CBS said it plans to air a spin-off of
“Criminal Minds.”

Walt Disney Co.’s ABC yesterday announced six dramas will
be added to its schedule next season, the first time since 2004
that the network will be without “Lost.”

General Electric Co.’s NBC said May 16 it’s adding five
comedies and seven dramas after the failed experiment with Jay
Leno at 10 p.m. News Corp.’s Fox, home of “American Idol,” the
most-watched show on television, is adding four comedies and
three dramas to its prime-time schedule.